# Explosive nucleosynthesis close to the drip lines

Thielemann, F. K. and Freiburghaus, C. and Rauscher, T. and Rembges, F. and Rosswog, S. and Pfeiffer, B. and Kratz, K. L. and Schatz, H. and Wiescher, M. C.. (1998) Explosive nucleosynthesis close to the drip lines. Acta physica Polonica. B, Elementary particle physics, nuclear physics, theory of relativity, field theory, Vol. 29, H. 11. pp. 3503-3513.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5839334

We give an overview of explosive burning and the role which neutron and/or proton separation energies play. We focus then on the rapid neutron capture process (r-process) which encounters unstable nuclei with neutron separation energies in the range 1-4 MeV, and the rapid proton capture process (rp-process), operating close to the proton drip-line. The site of the rp-process is related to hydrogen accreting neutron stars in binary stellar systems. Explosive II-burning produces nuclei as heavy as A=100, powering events observable as X-ray bursts. The r-process abundances witness nuclear structure far from beta-stability as well as the conditions in the appropriate astrophysical environment. But there is a remaining lack in the full understanding of its astrophysical origin, ranging from the high entropy neutrino wind, blown from hot neutron star surfaces after a supernova explosion, to low entropy cold decompresssion of neutron star matter ejected in mergers of binary neutron star systems.